Admissions Process

MMI interview 2021

We keep this page updated with all the information you need, make sure you read and watch everything thoroughly, and contact us if you have any further questions as feo-admissions-interviews@imperial.ac.uk. For more information about the admission timeline visit this page.

Watch this message from our current student Isra about applying to Medicine.

Please do get in touch with us if you have any questions about the admissions process.

We welcome and cherish diversity in our applicants' cohort, and we understand it can be difficult to share sensitive information about disabilities, learning difficulties or extenuating circumstances. If you feel that there is anything which could represent a barrier in your application to Medicine, please do get in touch with us so we can put any reasonable adjustments in place for you. We also recommend that you have a look at the MSC Guidance for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

This is a talk-show, hosted by our Current Students, describing the application process at ICSM.

Admissions Talk show

This is a talk-show, hosted by our Current Students, describing the application process at ICSM, as well as the experience of a medical student at Imperial.

Watch it and find out more about the steps of the application process, top tips about living in London, the financial aspects of medical schools and much more!

Prof. Shahid Khan describes the interview process for this year.

Multiple Mini Interviews

For 2024 - 25 admission year, the MMIs have been split in two parts:

One online-asynchronous section: this will take part on an external platform in January 2024
One face-to-face part: this will happen on an online platform in February 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we do MMIs?

At Imperial, we believe that MMIs give fair and accurate results. Getting a number of different interviewer assessments means that a candidate who doesn’t do as well on one component can still be fairly assessed on other components. 

What are the stations?

Although questions and stations may vary through the years, these are the main topics that you will asked questions on:

  • Team work and Leadership
  • Motivation to study medicine
  • Understanding the role of a doctor
  • Empathy and breaking bad news
  • Ethics scenarios
  • Imperial and contribution to school of medicine
  • Resilience

Work-experience questions

While we require our applicants to have an understanding of the realities of working as a healthcare professional and to show they have the necessary skills and attributes for their chosen career, we understand the challenges for our prospective applicants to gain experience practical experience in clinical settings. Have a look on the Work Experience page for more information. 

Online resources can give you valuable insight into working in the healthcare sector and outline the wide range of careers and courses available.

How will I be marked?

Answers are given 7 points for content (what you say) and 3 for communication (how you say it). Often there is no right or wrong answer – the interviewers are assessing your ability to explain your thinking. And if you change your mind on a specific question half way through a question, they will consider your ability to reflect on your ideas and how you think on your feet. 

How can I prepare?

Make sure you read the e-module we sent you thoroughly. 

Additionally, you can have a look at this entry blog regarding your preparation for MMIs: 

Our Tips:

Do:
  • Control what you can control: be prepared on anything that you can prepare. For example, trial your video-recording skills ahead of time and check your microphone/speakers.
  • Read this page carefully and watch the instruction video carefully
  • Take your time to read the problem and clearly understand what is being asked: you have 5 minutes to answer the questions, do not rush.
  • Think about your answer before you start giving it. There are no trick questions, but it helps to think about what you are going to say before you say it.
  • Give multiple examples to illustrate your points. Make sure you include your personal experience in your answers, for example, work experience.
  • Watch your communication: avoid colloquial terms, or repeating the same words.
  • Prepare thoroughly. Many universities will want to know why you want to study with them in particular. And they will all want you to demonstrate that you have a good idea of what it’s like to work in your chosen profession.
  • Keep up to date – often questions will reflect a current news story.
Don’t:
  • Don’t panic! If you run out of things to say, take a moment to collect your thoughts and see if you have anything relevant to add. And remember that you can change your mind during an answer, as long as you explain your train of thoughts and show that you are reflective. If you think you’ve done badly on a particular station, put it out of your mind and move to the next interview with confidence.
  • Don’t give memorised answers. Make sure you really listen to the question and don’t go off topic.
  • Don’t try too hard to make an impression or stand out. You will be assessed on your friendly approach and professional responses.

Keeping stress-level under control during interview time

by Rayyan Ali, ICSM Medicine Student 

Rayyan AliYou’ve done it, you’ve secured an interview. Take a deep breath, go out and celebrate. Interviews are probably the most nerve-wracking part of the medicine application for students simply because nearly all students won’t have done them before- I remember feeling nervous right up until the interviewer asked me the first question. Hopefully you’ll feel a bit better after reading some of these tips:

Start preparing early

Interviews are already stressful enough, there’s no need to add to that by cramming last minute. There are a lot of questions to be familiar with, ranging from questions about your personal statement and why you want to do medicine to questions about your work experiences and ethical scenarios. It’s in your best interest to start early; you’ll feel more prepared and confident this way. Interviewers always love to see confident students who can articulate their ideas well!

Involve other people

You can’t really practice interviews by yourself! Do mock interviews with friends, family or even your pet! Speaking out loud you’ll find is quite different to thinking in your head- what seems like a great answer may not be so great when someone else listens to it. Practising with other people applying for medicine is especially useful. They’ll know better than most people what to look for in your answers and can really help improve your interview skills. Grab any opportunity to practise interview questions, every little bit helps!

Take care of yourself

Don’t let the interview consume every waking thought of yours (hard as it may sound). Eat and sleep well, meet your friends and relax. Get plenty of exercise as well; I cannot stress how important it is to be relaxed in the weeks preceding the interview. By doing this you’ll create a cycle of positivity- with a more positive mindset you’ll work harder and more efficiently which in turn will make you more relaxed and optimistic. Remember, you’ve done the majority of the hard work by simply being invited for an interview.

On the day

Remaining calm is the best thing you can do. Interviewers aren’t trying to trip you up; they genuinely want to find out more about you and see whether you’d be a good fit for the university. A good feature of MMI’s is that one bad station doesn’t affect the others. Whilst it may seem hard to forget about a station you didn’t do so well in, you must try to. Confidence is key in an interview and reflects well on you to an interviewer.

Do make sure to reward yourself after your interview regardless of how you felt it went. You’ve done great reaching this stage!